A Master's Road: Kanto
by M E C S
Summary: What is that which motivates us to be better tomorrow than what we are today? Ash Ketchum will face many challenges in order to find his answer. And maybe, just maybe, he'll find something else. Mix between the anime and the games.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. If I did, I wouldn't be doing this.**

* * *

Today was an important day. A really important day and probably the one he expected the most. His tenth birthday was a week ago and that meant that he was of legal age and was ready to start his Pokémon journey.

Ash Ketchum looked determined as he smoothed his red jacket and black pants. He made sure to wake up early today. He prepared two alarm clocks in case of one failing and also asked his mom to wake him up at the time the clocks were supposed to go off.

His plan worked like a charm and he was ready to head to Professor Oak's ranch with thirty minutes to spare. He tied his black running shoes and smoothed his red cap that kept his messy black hair in place. With determination in his amber eyes he went downstairs.

Ash entered the kitchen and smiled when he saw his mom. She was smiling like she always did but she could not fool him. The bond between the two allowed him to see beyond the smiling facade she wanted to put.

Her eyes betrayed her. The worry and wistfulness were clear as water in her eyes. Ash sighed and approached her. She turned to him and for just a second her smiled faltered but she composed herself. Her smiled didn't reach her eyes.

"Hey there." Ash smiled and shook his head.

"Hey there, mom," Ash replied. Delia smiled at her son.

"You ready?" Delia asked. Ash beamed at her with determination.

"You bet I am. I didn't visit Professor Oak's ranch almost every day for nothing. I learned lots of stuff from Professor Oak and from the Pokémon themselves," Ash said. Delia just smiled at her son's words.

It was true. Ash spent a lot of time in old professor's ranch. He learned a lot of stuff. While he wasn't an information junkie like the professor he was smart and the most important things stayed in his head.

Delia made sure that he only wasn't ready mentally for his journey. There were lots of danger out there and while Pokémon could defend their trainers but one couldn't be too cautious. She inscribed Ash on a Martial Arts club that resided on the outskirts of Pallet Town when he turned 7.

According to what Ash said he learned a lot of fighting styles and he was working in combining all of them in order for him to make his own original one. And it showed. Her son was ten years old but he looked like twelve years old.

"Well you should go get your Pokémon. Is almost time for you to be there and you didn't took all those precautions in vain. When you get your Pokémon remember to come back here so I can give you your bag," Delia told his son. Ash just smiled at his mom and hugged her.

"Will do, mom," Ash said breaking the hug. He ran towards the door but his mothers giggling stopped him and with a sense of dread he looked back at his mom who had a teasing glint in her eyes.

"You sure are eager to get there. I wonder if it is because of the Pokémon or because a certain someone," Delia said smirking at her son's red face. Ash turned his head and ran outside.

"Mom! Is not like that!" Ash shouted. His only response was Delia's laughter.

Ash grumbled about moms and their annoying teasing as he walked the path towards Professor Oak's Ranch. He sighed and returned the greetings that were being sent his way. Pallet Town was a small village and everybody knew each other.

As he walked towards his destination he pondered about the Pokémon that were designed as starters for new trainers. Squirtle, a water type; Charmander, a fire type and Bulbasaur, a poison/grass type.

If Ash was honest with himself, he found Charmander the most appealing of the three. It was strong and his final evolution, Charizard, was just badass. He hoped to get a Charmander. Although he wouldn't mind getting one of the others two, getting a Charmander would be really cool.

He was in so deep thinking that he didn't noticed when he reached the ranch. What shook him out of his thoughts were the roaring of a crowd and an annoying and arrogant voice he was familiar with. He scowled and tried to pass sneakily trough the crowd but he had no such luck.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Does Ashy-boy think that he has what it takes to be a Pokémon trainer?" the annoying voice mocked with an arrogant undertone. Ash just scowled harder and turned towards that voice. It was his 'rival', Gary Oak.

Gary was Professor Oak's grandson. He and Ash were friends when they were younger but Gary started to become arrogant, something that Ash despised for some reason. That broke their friendship and both became rivals when Ash started to come to ranch hoping to learn about Pokémon. Gary tried to learn martial arts too but he didn't the determination needed to continue.

Ash wouldn't admit it to anyone but Gary was intelligent, very intelligent. And what he didn't have in guts he had it in smarts. He was very knowledgeable in Pokémon, Ash could attest to that. Ash thought that Gary wanted to become a researcher like his grandfather but he decided to become a trainer.

Probably just trying to best Ash.

"I don't think I'm ready to become a Pokémon Trainer. I know I'm ready to become one. Besides, if I wasn't ready, your grandpa wouldn't have allowed me to become one," Ash replied smoothly. Gary just scowled at Ash and snorted.

"We'll see about that. I already got the best Pokémon from grandpa. You should hurry and get your Pokémon. I was the first one to get here and your girlfriend is already getting hers." Gary said smirking. Ash just scowled blushing and turned swiftly towards the ranch.

That was another thing Ash didn't like about Gary. He liked to tease and Ash was the regular target to Gary's teasing. Ash shook his head and knocked on the door of the lab. He waited for two minutes and the door was opened by one of the aides. She recognized Ash and smiled at him.

"Hi there, Ash. Professor Oak is with another trainer right now. You are the third trainer today. If you'll follow me I'll lead you to where the professor is dispatching new trainers," the aide said pleasantly. Ash thanked him and did as he was told.

As he followed the aide Ash marveled at the Lab. There were a lot of machinery he didn't comprehend the half of their purpose. Ash followed the man to a wooden door where knocked. It only took half a second for a muffled 'Enter' to be heard. The aide smiled at Ash and motioned him to go inside. Ash nodded his thanks and opened the door.

The room was packed. There were lots of devices surrounding it, a desk full of papers and a table with a pokeball on top of it in the center of said room. . What really drew his attention were the two peoples near the table.

A middle aged man wearing a white lab coat that he recognized as Professor Oak. The other occupant of the room was a pretty girl his age. The girl's name was Leaf Green. She was Ash's best friend and not so secret crush. The only one who probably didn't know was the girl herself.

They were inseparable. That was why people teased them about being boyfriend and girlfriend. Every time someone teased her about it she would blush and look at the ground. The only who got mad about it was Ash and he always denied it.

"Good Morning, Ash. How nice of you to join us," Professor Oak said with a nod towards the black haired boy. Leaf turned towards where the door was and saw her best friend standing there. She smiled brightly showing pearly white teeth.

"Hi there, Ash!" chirped Leaf. Ash smiled and nodded at both of them, his smile widening a bit as his eyes caught Leaf's.

"Morning, Professor Oak, Leaf. How is it going?" Ash asked as he approached them. Professor oak smiled at Ash's politeness while Leaf scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Fake politeness will get you nowhere." Ash almost face faulted and Oak chuckled at the children's antics. Ash glared at Leaf with no malice whatsoever.

"I'm not faking it! You are supposed to be polite towards your elders. Not that you are old Professor Oak but you get what I mean," Ash corrected rapidly when he saw the professor scowling at the 'elder' comment. Oak chuckled while Leaf giggled behind her hand. Leaf turned to the Professor and bowed.

"Thank you very much, Professor Oak. I will call from time to time," Leaf said to the professor who smiled and nodded at her. When she reached Ash she turned to him, "There's something I need to tell you. I'll be waiting outside the lab." And with that she went out of the room leaving Professor Oak and Ash in there.

"Well Ash lets go straight to the point. You are probably very anxious and eager to get your first Pokémon so I won't beat around the bush," said Professor Oak. Ash just beamed determinately as he nodded at the professor.

"I am, professor. It has been my dream to become a Pokémon trainer since I can remember and we both know that I'm ready to be one," Ash said. Professor Oak nodded and motioned towards the only pokeball in the table.

"Inside this pokeball is a Charmander. Ash, there is something you need to know. This Charmander has been object of physical and psychological abuse. I was doing a field trip around Celadon when I saw him with his trainer and what I saw wasn't pretty. As a member of the league I stripped him from his Pokémon and trainer license and turned him to the league." Professor Oak paused to see Ash's reaction and was pleased to see the scowl on the black haired boys face.

"I have taken care of him and he is willing to give another trainer a chance. Ash, this Charmander has been trained and he will be stronger than a regular starter. But I know you won't disappoint me or him." Oak finished with a smile. Ash nodded and picked the pokeball up. He stared at it for a moment and pressed the release button and watched as Charmander was released.

The lizard like Pokémon was different from its brethren. For instance it skin was a shade darker than normal meaning that evolution was near. It had a scar going across his left eye but said eye was functional. It looked like he closed it when he received it. Also the flame on its tail was brighter.

Ash watched as Charmander blinked upon being released. The orange lizard looked around the room and nodded respectfully at the old researcher. When its eyes spotted Ash it growled lightly and took a weary stance. Ash smiled and crouched so he was eye level with Charmander.

"Hey there, buddy. My name is Ash and Professor Oak told me about you. He told me you were willing to give another human a chance to be your trainer. Professor Oak deemed me worthy enough to be that person. I really hope that we could become friends. Would you give me a chance?" Ash asked. Charmander listened intently and dropped his stance but he looked tense.

The lizard stared at Professor Oak and Ash watched from the corner of his eyes as the professor nodded his head. Charmander lost some tension and nodded at Ash. Ash smiled brightly getting a small one from Charmander. Ash patted Charmander's head and noted how it flinched but made no move to deny the show of affection.

"Thanks for the opportunity, Charmander. You won't regret it. We'll both grow strong. I will return you to your pokeball now but when we go outside I'll release you, is that okay?" Ask asked. Charmander nodded at Ash and never broke eye contact with the black haired boy as he was returned in a beam of red energy.

"That went better than I expected," commented Oak impressed. He never doubted Ash but at least he was expecting some aggression from Charmander. Samuel Oak smiled for himself.

Interesting.

"Yeah, it did. Thanks for putting you trust in me professor; I promise that I won't disappoint you. Is there anything else?" Ash inquired. Professor Oak nodded and pulled five shrunken pokeballs and a rectangular red device from his coat and handed them to Ash.

"Those are five empty pokeballs, from what I saw you know how to use them. Now the red device is something I designed myself. It's called a Pokedex and it records and shows data on the Pokémon that it is scanning. It also features as an ID. I have already programmed it with your personal information." Professor Oak motioned for Ash to give it a try. Ash nodded and flipped open the Pokedex. With a beeping sound a mechanical male voice was heard.

**Greetings, My name is Dexter. I was programmed by Professor Samuel Oak in order to assist the trainer, Ash Ketchum. If damaged or lost I cannot be replaced.**

The Pokedex showed a picture of him, his trainer license and the balance of his trainer account. Ash lookedcuriously at the professor who looked amused as if expecting some kind of question.

"How did you get all this information? I don't remember giving it to you," Ash asked. He wasn't accusing the good professor of anything but he was curious. Professor Oak chuckled and took a sagely look on his face.

"I have my ways young one," Oak replied mysteriously. Ash thought for a moment and deadpanned at the professor.

"It was my mom, wasn't it?" realized Ash. Professor Oak just hanged his head in defeat and nodded. Ash chuckled at the Professor's antics and bowed.

"Thanks again, Professor. You won't be disappointed. I'll make sure to call from time to time," Ash said. Professor Oak nodded and dismissed the black haired trainer.

Ash went out the lab all the while waving goodbye at the aides working there. As he exited he noted that the crow that was there was no longer in sight and it looked like Gary had left. Ash let out a relieved sigh. He released Charmander and looked down at him.

"We'll go say goodbye to my mom and then we are leaving on our journey. Is that okay with you?" Ask asked. Charmander looked up at Ash and nodded.

"Hey Ash!" shouted a voice. Ash turned to the voice and saw Leaf walking towards him. He looked down at Charmander and noted that the lizard was growling and glaring at the approaching girl. Ash patted Charmander on the head and made a 'shhh shhh' sound.

"Don't worry, buddy. She is a friend. Professor Oak and I trust her." Charmander calmed down a little but he was still tense. Leaf approached Ash and glanced at Charmander her eyes staying a little bit on the scar in Charmander's left eye. Charmander tensed as the brown haired girl eyed him but relaxed when she stopped eyeing him.

"So you got a Charmander from Professor Oak? It looks strong," Leaf commented. Ash patted Charmander on the head and noted how he didn't flinch this time. The lizard just looked at him for a second. Ash smiled and rubbed Charmander's head.

"He is a tough little guy and he will only grow stronger as time passes," Ash complimented. Charmander closed its eyes and leaned a bit into Ash's touch. Ash smiled at the lizard and looked at Leaf, "You said you wanted to tell me something." Ash recalled.

Leaf suddenly found the ground very interesting and her right foot was doing little circles on it. She clasped her hands behind her back and lowered her head. A pink hue was coloring her cheeks. Ash blushed. Leaf looked extremely cute. Charmander snorted in what sounded like amusement. Ash glared at the lizard who smirked at him.

"Well I was wondering…" Leaf started. Ash looked at her and wondered why she was so embarrassed.

"Yeah?" Ash pressed on.

"If…" her cheeks turned red and she lowered her head a little bit more.

"If?" Ash continued pressing on.

"Can I travel along side you?" she asked rapidly. Ash took a moment to figure out what she said and when he did he smiled and walked up to her and wrapped his right arm around her shoulders. He didn't notice but Leaf's red cheeks turned crimson.

"Of course you can Leaf. You didn't even need to ask. But there is a little detail. You see Charmander here has some trust issues and he doesn't have good experiences with humans aside from Professor Oak and for the little while I've known him with me. So we need to ask him. What do you say Charmander? Can Leaf travel with us?" Ash asked Charmander.

Charmander looked from Ash to Leaf noting their hopeful expressions. The orange lizard appreciated that his trainer asked for his opinion and decided to trust him. Also he had said that the funny old human trusted her so he was okay with it. He nodded and watched as the girl hugged his trainer fervently.

"I'll go tell mom and dad. Let's meet at the entry of Route One." And with that she rushed off leaving Ash and Charmander standing in front of the lab. Charmander looked at his trainer and growled curiously. Ash looked at Charmander and shook his head.

"Don't ask. Human antics. Anyways, let's follow her example and go see my mom. I must warn you. She'll probably try to pet you. You can trust her," Ash said. Charmander looked at Ash and nodded reluctantly. Ash smiled and patted the lizard on the head. Charmander just leaned into it slightly.

"Let's go."

The walk towards his house was made in silence. Charmander walked slightly behind him and kept sending him curious glances. Ash didn't mind. Charmander was probably trying to figure him out because he have kind and respectful towards him.

It showed how his previous trainer treated him. Charmander probably didn't expect someone aside from Professor Oak to treat him with respect. As Ash opened the door of his house he nodded determinately. He was going to make sure to be the best trainer for Charmander. His musings were cut short by his mother.

"Hey Mom! I'm back!" Ash called out to his mother. His mother came out of the kitchen smiling softly as always. Her eyes lingered on Charmander for moment making the fire lizard tense but he calmed down when Delia's eyes found her son.

"Hey there, honey. That's cute little Pokémon you have there." Commented Delia. Charmander snorted and shot Delia a mean look. He wasn't cute damnit!

Ash chuckled At Charmander's reaction to Delia's comment. It looked like Charmander had his pride and he like that about it. He wouldn't let it go to his head, though.

"Easy there guy. She means that you look strong healthy. Human girls have a peculiar way to describe stuff," Ash said to Charmander who stopped glaring at Delia, who looked amused, and stared at Ash. The fire lizard nodded its head a puffed up his chest. Ash and Delia chuckled at the lizard antics.

"A prideful one, huh?" Delia commented with a strange look in her eyes. She seemed to be recalling a past memory. Probably from her time as a trainer. Suddenly she lost her look and picked a yellow backpack he hadn't noticed until now. It was decently sized and it didn't look it was stuffed.

"Here is your backpack. There is enough supplies there to last you for five days. It will take you probably two days to reach Viridian but better be safe than sorry. Make sure to call me when you reach Viridian City," Delia told her son. Ash nodded as he placed the bag on his shoulders. He noticed the concern in her eyes.

"Don't worry, mom. Everything will be alright and I'll make sure to call you every time I reach a city," Ash assured his mother. She just nodded and hugged him with all her might. Ash chuckled and returned the hug full force. She broke the hug and quickly wiped her tearing eyes and smiled at her son.

"Well I don't want to keep holding you up. Stay save and remember to change your-" before she could finish her sentence both Ash and Charmander dashed out of the house. One because he wanted to avoid being embarrassed and the other one because he didn't want to be left alone with the strange female human.

Ash sighed as he walked towards Pallet Town's exit. His mom was always embarrassing him. Didn't she understand that he was ten years old already! He looked towards Charmander only to see the lizard with a bored expression on its face.

"What's wrong?" Charmander looked at him and growled something. Ash took a moment to realize what Charmander was trying to say. Ash chuckled and looked amusedly at Charmander.

"You want to battle already, huh? Don't worry. Route One has a few trainers that we can battle. That reminds me… I need to check your entry in the Pokedex. If I'm battling with you I need to know what you are capable off," said Ash pulling out the red device and pointing it at Charmander. The red lizard cocked his head to the side as the Pokedex made a beeping sound.

Charmander. The Lizard Pokémon. The flame that burns at the tip of its tail is an indication of its emotions. The flame wavers when Charmander is happy, and blazes when it is enraged.

Gender: Male.

Ability: Blaze.

Learned Moves: Scratch, Smokescreen, Ember, Flamethrower and Bite*. Note: The move 'Bite' was inherited from its parents.

Ash gave a low whistle as he listened to Charmander's moves. It was pretty rare for a charmander to know flamethrower. Professor Oak did say that Charmander had been previously trained but damn! Ash looked at the lizard and smirked when he puffed his chest.

"You're a tough little guy, aren't you? I'll definitely test your moves. But that will come later. We need to meet with Leaf first. Let's go!" Ash said and Charmander nodded. They both followed the path towards the entrance of Route One. Ash noted that Charmander didn't show any signs of fatigue as he walked. Perhaps Charmander was used to it.

They made it to Route One's entrance and the found Leaf talking with a bulbasaur. Both of them seemed to be pretty excited. Ash looked on amused Ash Leaf started to wave her arms around and the bulbasaur took and awed look. Ash chuckled and charmander did a snickering sound.

"I hope I'm not interrupting something," Ash said amusedly. Both Leaf and the bulbasaur made surprised sounds and turned to Ash with wide eyes. Ash chuckled as she glared at him. Bulbasaur growled and took a protective stance in front of Leaf.

"Don't you have something better to do than scaring the crap out of me?" Asked Leaf still glaring at him. Charmander growled something at the bulbasaur who took another surprised look and dropped its protective stance. It still stayed in front of Leaf though. Ash chuckled amusedly.

"I have to entertain myself with something," Ash replied. Leaf huffed and started to walk into Route One with the bulbasaur following her. Ash chuckled again and catched up to her quickly. Charmander kept up with him without trouble.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. So you got a Bulbasaur from Professor Oak?" Ash asked curiously. Leaf seemed to forget her anger as she smiled brightly and looked at the bulbasaur who was engaged in a conversation with Charmander. They both were growling at each other and nodding occasionally.

"Yeah! She is the cutest thing. The moment I saw her I knew she was going to be my Pokémon," said Leaf. Ash chuckled again and shook his head. He didn't understand what was with girls and cute stuff. His mother was the same to a lesser extent.

"Have you decided what you wanted to do? You told me you weren't sure," questioned Ash. Trees were starting appear along the road. Leaf nodded and looked at Ash with a smiled.

"I'll do a little bit of everything. I mostly want to travel and meet new people and Pokémon. I'm not challenging the gyms. But that doesn't mean that I won't train my Pokémon. I'm just not going to do it as much I now you are going to," Ash nodded at her. She liked Pokémon like any other kids their age but she didn't like battling that.

"Well, I'm definitely going to take on the gyms. I want to get to Viridian City and register in the next Conference. I want to be a Pokémon Master. Battling other trainers is the best way to get there. Ain't that right, Charmander?" Ash asked the fire lizard. Charmander looked up to Ash and nodded. It has been only a day but something was calling him to Ash. To trust him.

"I don't know what is with you boys and battling. Sure, battles are cool. But there are lots of other stuff to do!" she said in exasperation. Ash just chuckled and shrugged.

"Meh, that's how things are. I wouldn't have it any other way," Ash said. Leaf just sighed at him and shook her head. Boys.

The continued to walk down Route One. There wasn't really much to it. What kept most of their attention were the pidgey in the sky, the rattatta running across the road and the landscape between Pallet and Viridian. They haven't run into any trainer either. Ash thought it was because they were a little bit far from Viridian City.

At some point Leaf had to recall her bulbasaur. The green dinosaur like Pokémon was getting tire. It wasn't accustomed to walk long distances and it was taking its toll on the little green Pokémon.

Charmander on the other hand didn't look even winded. They have walked for four hours straight and both humans were starting feel tired. Charmander looked like he was on a sugar high. He was trembling with energy and he eyed the pidgey and rattatta like he wanted to roast them.

"Leaf let's stop for a moment. We're getting tired and I told Charmander that I wanted to test his moves. Let's find a place to rest," Ash told Leaf. She nodded and they walked to a clearing just a few minutes outside the road. It had some camping tables they could sit on. Leaf released her bulbasaur and gave it some food and then turned to Ash.

"You should walk a little further away. I know for a fact that Fire-Types tend to be more destructive than others," Leaf said dryly. Ash nodded with a grin. He and Charmander walked to the edge of the clearing were a few trees were resting.

"Okay Charmander, let's try your moves on those trees. Start with a scratch attack!" instructed Ash. Charmander nodded as his claws shined white and he ran towards one of the trees. He roared as he slashed the trees leaving slashing marks on it. It would do some damage on regular Pokémon.

"Good work Charmander! Let's try with bite now!" Ash exclaimed. Charmander nodded and with another roar he bit the same tree he attacked with scratch. He took of a chunk of the tree as he bit it. It would do some real damage against most foes but Charmander will hafe to get up close.

"That was awesome Charmander! Use ember now!" Charmander backed up a bit and whipped his flaming tail at the tree. Four basketball sized fireballs were sent flying at the tree. They left scorching mark on the tree once they hit.

Ash noted that the fireballs lost potency as they kept going towards their target. The attack was named ember because of that fact. There were just embers originated from a bigger fire, Charmander flaming tail in this case. As time pass they die out. Ash thought for a moment and came up with a theory.

"Hey Charmander, can you focus the power of your ember attack into your moth instead? I want to see if I'm right about something." Ash asked and Charmander nodded. Charmander did as told and focused the power he normally put into an ember attack into his mouth. Little embers flew out of the lizard's mouth as he reared his head back.

A fireball a little bit bigger than Ash was sent into the same tree. It didn't lose its power as it reached the tree. Ash feel the temperature rise slightly as the fireball neared its target. It exploded when it hit the tree and a cloud of black smoke formed around the tree. When the smoke dissipated they saw a totally scorched tree and a few embers surrounding it.

"That was freaking awesome Charmander! We are totally going to practice that move later. But first let's test your flamethrower. Aim it at the sky, though. If that improvised fireball did that kind of damage I don't want to see what a flamethrower would do," Ash said and Charmander bared his fangs in a grin.

Flames sprouted from the fire lizard's mouth as he reared his head back. The temperature rose a few degrees and Ash took a few steps back. Charmander roared as he released a stream of powerful looking red and orange fire into the sky. It lasted for a few seconds and it died down. Ash grinned from ear to ear as he saw the power Charmander could command.

His grin fell as he looked down at Charmander. The fire lizard was sitting on his behind and his shoulders were heaving as he panted heavily. Ash ran up to Charmander and crouched beside the lizard. Ash looked at fire lizard worriedly as it looked at Ash with exhausted eyes.

"Charmander, are you okay?" Ash asked worriedly. Charmander kept panting but nodded. Ash sighed in slight relieve. It looked like while Charmander could use flamethrower it still was to advanced for the lizard to use in actual combat. Perhaps it was for this reason that Charmander's old trainer was so bad towards the lizard and his other Pokémon.

"Charmander is so strong! I can't believe he can cause so much damage!" Ash turned to Leaf who was looking at them in awe. Ash nodded and looked at the little body in his hands. Charmander was snoring lightly. Ash petted him and recalled him into his pokeball.

"He is really strong. The fact he is a young Pokémon with that kind of power is what really surprises me. I just hope I can be the best trainer for him," Ash said with a smile. Leaf smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry. I know that you will become one the best trainers there are. Now let's go prepare our camp. Our Pokémon are tire and is already late in the afternoon. Better not risk it," Leaf said and turned to walk towards the clearing. Ash smiled and followed her.

* * *

The second day of travel was certainly more interesting than the first one. They have started to encounter other trainers and Ash was eager to challenge many ofthem, which he did. Ash won all of the battles. While these trainers were rookies just as him they mostly have rattata, pidgey, bellsprout and the odd meowth or pikachu.

Ash had some experience in Pokémon battle because he watched the Pokémon in the corral go at it multiple times when he visited. While he didn't have firsthand experience it was enough to give him the edge he needed to win against these trainers. The fact that Charmander was a somewhat experience battler helped also.

He didn't use flamethrower on any of them. While it tired Charmander a lot, he didn't want to burn to a crisp the other kids Pokémon. Charmander made a quick work of them only using scratch, bite and the improvised fireball they came up with yesterday. Ash decided to name the attack, well, fireball. It wasn't original but it certainly explained what the attack was about.

He also made a little bit of money. The losing trainer had to give the winner a share of their money if they had more than a thousand pokedollars. It was relatively new rule imposed by the League. This gave trainers another motive to get better and stronger. Nobody wanted to lose money just because they sucked at battling.

Leaf did battle a few of them and won all her battles too. Bulbasaur made quick work of the other kids Pokémon with vine whip and poison powder. They spent the whole morning and most of the afternoon walking and battling, Ash did most of the battling, and they only stopped at noon for an hour rest.

Now it was late into the afternoon and both trainers were in a similar clearing to the one they found yesterday. Both Charmander and Bulbasaur were out of their pokeballs. Despite all of the battles he fought Charmander didn't look tired, in fact he looked bored.

Ash was looking Charmander's entry in his PokeDex. He wanted to know everything about the lizard so he could train him better. He was interrupted when a loud chirp was heard on the clearing. He looked up to one of the trees and saw a pidgey perched in one of branches. It was bigger than the ones he had encountered until now, but not by much.

It looked down at him and puffed its chest. Ash smirked and called for Charmander who was in front of him immediately in a ready stance and growling. The bird puffed its chest again and flapped its wings. Ash widened his smirk. It was a challenge and he would take it gladly.

"Charmander start this with ember!"

Charmander launched the fireballs at the bird. The pidgey flapped its wings and took into the air evading the tiny fireballs. The bird then dived towards Charmander at high speeds with a streak of white following her. In the last second Charmander jumped out of the way and retaliated with more fireballs.

The pidgey just evaded the fireballs with grace. It then flapped its wing again and gales of wind shoot towards Charmander. Ash smirked at that.

"Fireball!"

Charmander did as told and fired the big fireball at the incoming gales of wind. The fire burned the oxygen in the winds and became bigger and stronger. The bird chirped in surprise and dived out of the way. It still was slightly hurt by the attack. It glared at the lizard and shoot towards Charmander with glowing wings. Ash recognized it as a wing attack.

"Catch it!"

The bird chirped in surprise when Charmander caught it by the wings with a grunt. It struggled to get free but Charmander's grip was firm.

"Finish it with bite!" Ash shouted. Charmander bared its fang and sank them into pidgey. The bird chirped in pain as Charmander whipped his head threw it away. It landed on a hip and didn't get up. Ash smiled and threw a pokeball at the fallen bird. It shook three times and made a 'ping' sound. It was a successful catch. He picked up the ball and smiled at it.

"Welcome to the team Pidgey. I'll make sure to be the best trainer for you."

Ash turned to Charmander and motioned to the lizard to approach him. Charmander walked towards Ash and sniffed the pokeball containing the bird. Charmander grunted at it and shrugged its shoulders. Ash took that as an approval.

"Let's meet our new partner," Ash said and Charmander nodded lazily. Ash tapped the release bottom and the pidgey was released in a flash of energy. It was still knocked out and it was slightly burned and had a nasty bruise where Charmander had bit it. Ash took a potion from his bag and sprayed it on the bird.

After a few moments most of the damage was healed but the bruise still had a light purplre coloring but it would be healed by tomorrow morning. The bird twitched awake and bolted to its feet the moment it was aware of its surroundings. It locked eyes with Ash and Charmander and puffed its chest and spread its wings.

"Hey, easy there little fella. We already battle and I caught you," Ash said. The bird retracted its wing and deflated its chest. It didn't try to escape but it looked put off by it.

"Don't worry. I'll take very good care of you and I will train you to your strongest," Ash promised. The bird cocked its head to the side and chirped. It nodded after a few moments and Ash grinned. He took out his PokeDex and pointed it at the bird who cocked its head again and stared curiously at the red machine.

Pidgey. The Tiny Bird Pokémon. It has an extremely sharp sense of direction. It can unerringly return home to its nest, however far it may be removed from its familiar surroundings.

Gender: Male

Ability: Keen Eye.

Learned Moves: Quick Attack, Sand-Attack, Gust, Wing Attack and Whirlwind.

Ash nodded at the moves Pidgey knew. The bird cocked his head again an chirped again gaining Ash attention. Ash grinned at the bird.

"We are staying here for the night. You want stay outside or do you want to be in your pokeball?" Ash asked the bird who cocked his head again. The pidgey chirped and flew towards one of the tree branched and started to roost. Ash shrugged and motioned Charmander to follow him to their camp. Leaf was watching them with a small smile.

"You caught your first Pokémon," she stated. Ash nodded and sat next to her. Charmander did the same and started to chat with Bulbasaur.

"Yes I did. Pidgey are really versatile Pokémon and this one is particularly strong. Such an opportunity couldn't be wasted," Ash said with a shrug. Leaf giggled and took a glance at the roosting bird.

"I think it's cute," She said and Ash rolled his eyes. There she was again with cute stuffs.

"You should start worrying yourself about what you are going to do. I don't thin what you are doing right now is really productive," Ash said. It was Leaf turn to role her eyes.

"I already told that I only want to travel for the time being. I don't see myself battling. If I find something that really draws my attention I will do it," Leaf replied. Ash shrugged and took out his sleeping bag. Charmander and Bulbasaur already drifted off and the moon was shining white in the sky. Leaf did the same and both bid goodnight to each other. The still had another day of traveling awaiting them.

* * *

Their third day of traveling was certainly different from their second one. The most notorious difference was Pidgey being a part of the team now. Ash woke up early and did a few warm up exercises and practiced with Charmander and Pidgey. Leaf just watched from afar.

Firs he had Charmander and Pidgey run, or in Pidgey's case fly, a few laps around the clearing. Then they worked on endurance and evasion by having a mock battle. They had a good workout and after refilling their water bottles and picking up their sleeping bags they were on the road again.

Ash and Leaf encountered more trainers during the morning. Ash battled most of them and again won all of his battles. Charmander overwhelmed his opponents and Pidgey was too quick for most of them. Only others pidgey and spearow could score hit on the bird but they weren't as experienced as Pidgey.

Leaf had her share of battles and only lost one to a trainer with a vulpix. A potion later her Bulbasaur only had mid burns and slight fatigue. Leaf kept it on its pokeball the whole time.

Now they were walking along side a river. Charmander and Pidgey were both inside their pokeballs so they could save energy. It was only noon and they could encounter more trainers on the way to Viridian.

As if fate was listening to them, they found an orange haired girl fishing on the river. She seemed to be a few years older than Ash and Leaf. Ash grinned and called up to her.

"Hey there! Are you a Pokémon Trainer?" Ash asked. The girl turned towards them and smirked as she saw the challenging look on Ash's face.

"Yes I am. Wanna battle?" She said as she took out a pokeball. Ash returned her smirk and nodded as he took out one of his.

"One one one?" Ash asked and Misty nodded her head.

"Go, Poliwag!" She said and released a blue tadpole looking Pokémon. It was small and had a white belly with a swirl on it and a transparent tail. It made an odd sound and jumped excitedly. Ash smiled and released Pidgey. The bird came out with a chirp and narrowed its eyes when it saw its opponent. The orange haired girl decided to attack first.

"Start with bubblebeam!" The girl exclaimed with a flourish of her arms. The tadpole seemed to nod and shoot a barrage of innumerable bubbles at Pidgey.

Ash didn't have to order Pidgey to dodge as the bird flapped its wings and shoot to the air. The bubbles kept barraging towards Pidgey as the bird tried to dodge them.

The bird did flips and sharp turns as it tried to dodge the bubbles but despite of its best effort they were too much and some of them hit. They didn't do a lot of damage, it was only a mild annoyance. Ash decided to put an end to it.

"Dispel them with gust!"

Pidgey chirped and flapped its wings. A tornado of strong winds was directed towards Poliwag. It carried dust and dispersed the barrage of bubbles Poliwag was shooting. Poliwag made an odd sound as the winds threatened to send it flying. It maintained its ground with a lot of effort.

"Jump out of the way and use water gun!" The girl cried. Poliwag nodded again and in the last second dodged the raging mini tornado. It kept going for a few more seconds until it dispelled. Poliwag made the same odd noise and released a stream of pressurized water at Pidgey.

"Use quick attack and dodge it! Chain it with wing attack!" Ash shouted. Pidgey chirped and shoot at rapid speeds towards the stream of water. Pidgey made a barrel-roll as it wings started to glow with white energy. The bird rammed into Poliwag not a moment later.

Poliwag made a pained noise as it crashed into the ground. It was bruised and had some dirt on it but it was ready to keep fighting. It glared at Pidgey who was still airborne and made another odd noise. The red haired girl smiled at it.

"Don't give up! Use water gun again!"

Poliwag made the same odd noise and shoot the water gun at Pidgey. Pidgey dodged again and flapped its wings creating a gale of wind that sent Poliwag to the ground again. Its tail was sprouting out and Ash took notice of that.

"Grab it by its tail and go high into the air."

Pidgey did just that and used a quick attack to reach the tadpole faster. Pidgey used its talon to grab Poliwag's tail and flapped its wing to take to the air taking the tadpole with it. Poliwag made surprised sounds and started to struggle to brake free. The girl was wide eyed as she watched Pidgey going higher and higher.

"Try to break free! Use doubleslap!"

But it was to no avail. Pidgey's grip was to strong and Poliwag was already tired from all the hits it took. Ash smiled and gave his last order.

"Send it to ground and use whirlwind!"

Pidgey did a backwards flip and used the momentum to send Poliwag to the ground. The girl and the tadpole cried in fright as it descended to ground buy Pidgey didn't stop there. It flapped its wings and sent a gale of wind towards the falling tadpole. These doubled the speed of the fall and the tadpole cried again as it crashed into the ground kicking up a cloud of dust.

Pidgey flapped its wings and sent a weaker gale of wind to disperse the cloud of dust. When it dispersed it showed a heavily bruised knocked out Poliwag. The girl sighed and recalled her fallen Pokémon. She walked up to Ash and Leaf. Pidgey was perched on Ash shoulder and Leaf was congratulating them on their win. She pulled out some money and gave it to Ash who accepted it with a grin.

"That was one hell of a battle! How much time you have as a trainer?" asked the orange haired girl. Ash scratched Pidgey's crest earning a delighted coo from the bird and recalled it back to its pokeball.

"This is my third day," Ash replied. Misty got a wide eyed look on her face and Leaf giggled.

"You are very talented then. You did some really advanced stuff back there," Misty said.

"I try my best," Ash said with a shrug. Misty shook her head looked towards the sky. Gray clouds were starting to form.

"I think you guys need to head towards Viridian City. It's going to start raining and I don't think you guys wouldn't want be here in the open when it starts," Misty said as she headed towards her bike which was resting on a tree near the river. Both Ash and Leaf looked at the graying sky and nodded in agreement. Misty sat on her bike turned towards them.

"You guys should hurry. There have been reports of a flock of spearow near this area. I don't think it would be nice to meet them," she warned with a serious face but soon smirked at them, "See you guys at Viridian." And we that she took off.

"Well you heard the girl. Let's get going, Leaf," Ash said and started to walk in the direction Misty took off.

"Yeah. Encountering that flock doesn't sound very appealing. And my hair wouldn't appreciate the rain, either," Leaf said as she followed Ash. Ash rolled his eyes.

"What does your hair has to do with anything?" Ash asked clueless. It was Leaf's turn roll her eyes.

"You are impossible."

Ash just shrugged.

* * *

**Ok this is the rewrite of my firs story 'Challenge: Kanto'. Like you saw there were a lot of major changes. Those who did read the first version know what I'm talking about and those who don't know well your lost.**

**Like I said I inspired myself on The Straight Elf's 'Traveler'. So a few things will be similar. You must read his fic. It's full of awesomeness in a whole other level.**

**I already have the story planned out in general. So updates should be at least once every two weeks if school and life doesn't get in the way.**

**Make sure to review guys. That is what really motivates me to write so please at least try to do it.**

**See you next time,**

**Mecs.**


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